


Never Broken

by Pearl_Unplanned



Series: Cap_Ironman Bingo 2016 (1) [21]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AU, Brainwashing, Bucky Barnes as Captain America, Cap_Ironman Bingo, Hurt Bucky Barnes, Hurt Steve Rogers, M/M, Mentions of torture (by Hydra), Steve Rogers as the Winter Soldier, Stony Bingo, Winter Soldier Trigger Words, Winter Soldier!Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-29
Updated: 2016-07-29
Packaged: 2018-07-27 13:23:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7619761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pearl_Unplanned/pseuds/Pearl_Unplanned
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers, the Winter Soldier, has been staying with the Avengers, trying to remember his past. Making friends with the team isn’t as hard as he may have originally thought, though ten triggering phrases may be the end of that.</p><p>After all, will the Winter Soldier ever truly be free from Hydra’s control? </p><p>Sequel to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/5017615">Fixed</a>, tl;dr inside</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never Broken

**Author's Note:**

> Sequel to [Fixed](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5017615).
> 
> Tl;dr: Steve, the Winter Soldier, went to Tony to fix his arm. He wants to remember, which makes Bucky happy, and he wants to be around Tony, which makes Tony happy.
> 
> I felt like exploring this a little more.

 

            "Does that feel better?" It wasn't strange enough that a criminal, a _brainwashed assassin_ , really, had come to him in need of some assistance. What was weird was the fact that the man seemed to be completely relaxed, sitting in the chair calmly as Tony finished some adjustments on the mechanical arm that he was sporting.

            Steve looked down at it, like he didn't remember that it was there, before glancing over at Tony. His eyes had glazed over to that blank look again, like he was nothing more than a puppet that people were playing with. Tony bit his lip, angry that _anyone_ would be able to toy around with some man's life like it didn't mean anything.

            "There's significantly less pain," he commented, eyes flickering up to meet Tony's. There was another look of interest, like Tony was an intriguing species that he wanted to learn more about.

            "That's good. Less pain is always good," Tony said. When he patted Steve's shoulder, though, the assassin's right hand flashed out and grabbed his wrist tightly, like a reflex. Tony yelped, surprised, and a few seconds later Steve released him, causing Tony to fall backward.

            "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," Steve said, and while Tony expected that it was part of his Winter Soldier mindset, he seemed a lot more like a kicked puppy than an evil terrorist. The assassin got on his knees and held out his arms, wrists up, and bent his head, stretching out his neck, like he expected Tony to _punish_ him or something. Tony stared at the man, mouth hanging open, not sure what he was supposed to do in a situation like this.

            "Uh... Steve? Stand up, okay? I'm not going to hurt you," Tony said softly, holding up his hands so that he wouldn't show hostility. "You never have to do that to anyone else again, you hear me? No one's allowed to hurt you like that again."

            The Winter Soldier lifted his head, looking up at Tony. There was _fear_ in his eyes that looked so out of place on such a strong man. "I was wrong. I hurt you. Now I deserve punishment." His eyes roamed the room for a moment. "You don't have the setup here... Do you still wish to wipe my mind? I won't resist."

            "No, Steve, no one's going to ever do that. No one's _allowed_ to do that anymore," Tony said, kneeling down beside the assassin. "No one's ever going to wipe your memories again. I'm going to try to help you get them back. Do you want me to get Bucky? He's going to want to know that you're here."

            Steve stared at Tony, as if trying to judge him, to see if he was being truthful with his comments about never having to lose his memory or get punished. "You... don't want to hurt me. Why? I have hurt you."

            "That was an accident. And before that? You were being brainwashed and controlled. No one can blame you for something like that," Tony murmured, offering a hand to the blond to help him stand up. Steve just stared at his hand, confused, but he didn't jerk away when Tony carefully grasped it and pulled him to his feet. The assassin seemed to be greatly confused as to why Tony was being so nice to him.

            "Do you want me to get Bucky?" Tony asked quietly, watching the Winter Soldier's reaction carefully.

            His eyes looked far away for a moment, and Tony was almost worried that he was going to freak out and go all mind controlled assassin, but then a small smile crossed his face. "When we were kids, he used ta try and keep me outta trouble..." But then the smile disappeared, and Tony wondered if he even remembered that he'd _said_ that. "Bucky. I... I'd like to see him."

            "That's good, that's moving forward," Tony said. "Hey Jarvis, you wanna alert Buck that Steve's here? And tell him to come _slowly_ , because..." He glanced over at Steve. "Just... tell him, okay?"

            "Whatever you say, Sir," Jarvis said, and Tony watched as Steve visibly flinched.

            In less than a second, the assassin had his gun drawn, looking around the room, trying to pinpoint the 'danger'.

            "Hey, cool it buddy," Tony said, putting his hands up again, worried that the assassin might actually start shooting. "That's just Jarvis. He's an... artificial intelligence. He's not technically a person. I'll explain all of that later, okay? Once you're... less jumpy and more settled down. Would you kindly hand over the gun? I don't exactly want anyone getting shot tonight."

            The Winter Soldier looked at the gun in his hand, then looked over at Tony. The genius was easily able to tell that he was trying to decide if he was trustworthy or not, and Tony felt something akin to joy flood through him when Steve handed over the gun. Why was it so important that Steve trusted him? As long as he trusted Bucky it should all be fine, right? But for whatever reason, he was so happy to know that this man trusted him.

            Steve tensed when the door banged open. Tony held up a hand, trying to motion for Bucky to stop, or at least calm down. But the moment that Bucky saw Steve, there was no stopping him. He raced over to the assassin, throwing his arms around him.

            "Steve," Bucky cried, hugging him tightly. The Winter Soldier looked very uncomfortable, arms at his sides, standing stiff and straight as a board. He glanced over at Tony, eyes holding a plea in them.

            "Calm down, Buck, give the guy some room," Tony murmured, coming to Steve's rescue as he pried the happy super-soldier off of him.

            "You came back," Bucky said. He was trembling, and Tony put a hand on his shoulder, dragging him back a couple steps. "Why didn't you come to me?"

            "His arm was injured, he needed someone to fix it," Tony said quickly, not wanting his friend to be upset. "He knew that I could fix things, so he came to me to fix it. See? It doesn't hurt him as much now. Obviously I'm going to have to find a better long-term solution, but that's going to take some time."

            "I want... to remember," Steve said carefully, and he actually looked over at Bucky this time. It was the first time he'd looked him in the eye thus far. Before he had been looking at the ground, or at Tony.

            Bucky's face lit up. "Really? That's great! I can't believe you came back... Uh, Tony—he can stay at the tower, right?"

            "Of course. I'll need to keep an eye on him, though. You understand, right Steve?" Tony asked, and the assassin nodded.

            "You don't want me to hurt your team," Steve said, almost like he'd been told to say it.

            "And I don't want anyone to hurt you either," Tony said, grinning. Tony couldn't help but feel happy when Steve smiled at him.

            "Well good. I'll tell the team. Do you... do you remember anything, Steve?" Bucky asked, and there was a pleading, hopeful look in his eyes.

            Steve blinked a few times, looking over at Tony as if for permission. He'd have to talk with Steve about that later. "I... there was... earlier."

            "When I mentioned you, he told me that you used to try and keep him out of trouble when you guys were kids," Tony supplied, and Steve nodded.

            "Yes," Steve murmured. "When we were growing up..." And then he looked confused again. He looked almost as if he had just appeared in the room, like he didn't know that Tony and Bucky were both there. Tony glanced over at Cap's face, noticing how _injured_ he looked upon seeing his best friend in this sort of state.

            "Why don't you go tell the team that Steve's going to be staying here, and I'll show him around the tower some," Tony said, though it wasn't a question. Bucky seemed to understand that, because he looked back and forth between Steve and Tony for a moment before he nodded.

            "Yeah... Yeah. I'll do that. Keep him safe..." Bucky murmured, and he left very slowly, like if he wasn't at Steve's side, he might disappear again. That's when Tony realized that he _might_ just disappear again. The Winter Soldier could easily overpower him and get away any day, unless he was wearing his suit... which he wasn't.

            "Come on, I'll show you around. Then we can introduce you to everyone, okay? I don't want to overwhelm you, but everyone here wants you to get better. I know I sure do, so I'm going to help you with that," Tony said, motioning over towards the door.

            "I can ask... anything, right?" Steve asked, and Tony noticed the lucid look in his eyes.

            "Yep, anything you want. What do you want to know?" Tony asked quickly, not wanting that look to disappear.

            "I want to know... how I know you," Steve murmured, and his eyes were narrowed in concentration.

            "I was with Bucky when we were trying to find you," Tony offered. "You're a hard man to find, I can give you that."

            "No," Steve said quickly, shaking his hand. "No, from before..." He looked over at Tony. "I know your eyes. I've seen your eyes before."

            "My... eyes?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow. "Sorry pal, but I've never met you before. Maybe it was my father that you remember? Because I know you two knew each other back in the day."

            "No. I know what his face looks like. I visited the museum," Steve said, and Tony was a little surprised to find that he'd done that. "It's _you_ that I can't place. I've seen you before, but I don't remember where. They took it from me."

            And then apparently the thought of having his memories wiped was too much, because Steve collapsed down to the ground and grabbed at his head, screaming like someone was electrocuting him. Jarvis quickly confirmed that no one was, there weren't any sort of brain-zapping chips in his head or anything, so all Tony was able to do was sit down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder, trying to see if Steve would react. He actually leaned slightly towards Tony instead of away from him, so Tony saw that as a good sign to put his arms around the injured man and hold him close.

            When Steve straightened up, his eyes were cold and emotionless again, and Tony couldn't help but feel disappointed. He knew that he had to help this man, and he hoped that he could.

 

            "So he's going to be living here," Clint said, and Tony could tell it wasn't a question, it was just a statement.

            "Yes. This is Steve Rogers, Bucky's best friend from before he became the star-spangled man he is," Tony said, watching as Bucky tried introducing Steve to Natasha. The soldier still looked out of it, like he wasn't quite there, like he was a ghost surrounded by life. He almost looked like he thought no one could see him.

            "I know who he is," Clint murmured. "Buck's told me a lot about him. Did you know that Bucky wasn't the only Captain America?"

            "What?" Tony asked. Bucky had always been Captain America. After he went down, no one had ever taken his place. No one was _able_ to—there were no other super-soldiers. Well, except for the Winter Soldier. Tony guessed that _that_ man probably had some serum in him, too. How it _got_ there was another question altogether.

            "Yeah. When he went through Project: Rebirth, he didn't go it alone. Bucky and Steve went through the process together," Clint said. Tony watched the way that Steve tensed in surprise when Bucky put a hand on his shoulder. But then the soldier glanced over at his star-spangled ex-mission and relaxed, a small smile crossing his face. "Both became super-soldiers, and both donned the red, white and blue suit. It wasn't until they thought Steve died when Bucky became Captain America officially. Before then, they shared the title of Captain America. That way, Hydra thought they had one super-soldier to face, but then two would show up and they had the upper hand."

            "Really? Bucky told you all that?" Tony asked. Bucky never told him about that. Sure, they didn't share everything, but they were good friends. Bucky talked mostly about when they were kids, and when they used to try to sign up for the army. Even with the sicknesses that he used to have when he was young, Bucky was still stronger than Steve, but that didn't help when the army still said no to him. Bucky always talked about Steve like he died when they were young. He'd never told Tony that Steve had become a super-soldier like him, so when Bucky had first said that the Winter Soldier was Steve Rogers, he'd just guessed that Hydra had made him a super-soldier.

            "Bucky needed someone to open up to. And I guess I was there when he needed to open up," Clint said, shrugging. "He's a little anxious-looking, don't you think? He doesn't look like he wants to be here."

            "Steve? No, he doesn't look like he wants to be here. But he did come here for help, so I think he wants to get better," Tony said. "At least, he said he wanted to be fixed."

            "It's going to take a _long_ time," Clint warned. "And the entire team's going to have to help."

            "I know. I hope you don't mind that I told Buck that Steve could stay here," Tony said. He watched as the Winter Soldier persona seemed to disappear, and Steve smiled at something that Bruce said. "I don't want the team to be uncomfortable, but I know this is important to Bucky, so it's important to me, too. No man should have to go through what Steve's been through, and I feel... like I can help him somehow. If he wants my help."

            Tony guessed that the super-soldier wasn't able to hear him, but when he said that, Steve looked over in his direction. There was a look of happiness and comfort on his face that made Tony smile, because he was glad that Bucky's friend was getting along with the team. Right? That was totally the only reason, because Steve was Bucky's friend, and so was Tony, so of course he'd want to help Steve. No ulterior motives.

            "I don't mind at all, and neither does Tasha. She _was_ trying to help you guys track Rogers down in the first place," Clint said. But it wasn't just that—Clint had failed to mention all the hours that he'd spent trying to track Steve down at SHIELD and on his own, all the times that Clint had gone along with Bucky to try to bring Steve back. Bruce too—he knew a lot about where people might go if they don't want to be found, and he promised to help Steve in whatever way was needed to get him better.

            "Good. I wasn't trying to make my team uncomfortable, I hope you know that," Tony mumbled, and Clint just patted his shoulder before the rest of the team wandered over. The look in Steve's eyes kept flickering between being comfortable and going blank.

            "Mind if Steve takes the spare room near mine?" Bucky asked, and Tony nodded.

            "That'd be a great place," Tony said. "It's all set up and ready... has been for months now."

            "Tony, do you remember when we were talking about different treatment plans that might be able to help Steve?" Bruce asked. "I really think that we should begin tomorrow."

            Tony nodded. "The sooner the better." When Steve looked a little alarmed, Tony added, "It's just to break some of the mental controls that Hydra had on you. Certain words, certain blocks... We're going to try to get your memory back and make it so that Hydra doesn't have any grasp on you anymore."

            "Oh," was Steve's reply, like he'd been expecting something bad, like he'd been expecting them to want to try and hurt him.

            "We've been trying to find different ways to help you," Bruce added. "For a while now. You're safe here, Steve. No one's going to hurt you."

            While Steve didn't exactly look convinced that no one was going to try and hurt him, he did look a little more comfortable with having the team around him. When they first crowded around him, he looked like he was back in Hydra or something. Tony couldn't help but feel weird as Steve's gaze kept going back to him, and he couldn't stop thinking about the way that Steve said he knew him. He wasn't sure how the Winter Soldier thought that he knew him.

            When things all settled down, everyone started heading back off to their rooms again, seeing that it _was_ pretty late at night. Bucky tried leading Steve off to his room, but the Winter Soldier got defensive, had a bit of a breakdown for a moment, and didn't calm down until Tony and Bucky held him softly, encouraging him to come back, to leave the Winter Soldier behind and remember Steve again. It took a while for Steve to remember himself again, and he didn't seem to notice that his metal arm was still holding onto Tony until he tried to follow Bucky and accidently dragged Tony along with him, which ended up with Tony in Steve's arms, face an inch from Steve's.

            God, he had the urge to kiss him, right now. And that urge scared him a little, so Tony quickly fled back to his own room. He couldn't be thinking that way about the Winter Soldier. Steve needed _help_ , not him.

 

            "Quit worrying so much," Tony said, grabbing another tool before he went back to work on the machinery before him. "You've been here two weeks. Your mind's getting better as fast as it can, Steve. You haven't had an episode in four days—be proud of that!"

            "I am glad for that," Steve said quietly. Tony could tell that Steve was thinking about the last episode he'd had. He'd ended up reverting back to the time not too long ago when Bucky was his _mission_ , because he was supposed to take Captain America out. They'd calmed him down—luckily the only weapon he'd been able to get ahold of was a kitchen knife, since he'd given the team all of his weapons. He had been worried about hurting someone, so he kept the weapons away from himself. There were times when Tony noticed him looking at kitchen knives like those were vile, evil weapons too.

            "I just... Want it to be over. I want to stop attacking you guys... I don't want Hydra to have control over me anymore," Steve mumbled. Tony was actually a bit surprised that the Winter Soldier was opening up this much to him right now, because while he'd been spending all of his time either with Bucky, or with Tony in the lab, Tony wasn't exactly sure how much he'd actually _said_ to him. Steve just wasn't a talker, he assumed.

            "That would be nice," Tony agreed. "You're doing really well, Steve. It takes time to not only find those mental controls they had on you, and get rid of them, too. It's all going to take a _long_ time, so you'll just have to be patient. You're not going to hurt us. We're trained professionals."

            Steve stared at him while he worked on the metal arm. When Steve had mentioned that he couldn't feel anything with it, Tony guessed that he might be able to do something about it. That's mainly what he did whenever Steve was in the lab, because the blond was good at sitting still for long periods of time. The only issue Tony had was that Steve spent half of the time _staring_ at him. It wasn't creepy at all, it just felt like Steve was able to see into his head, like he knew about the thoughts and feelings that Tony was having for him. And frankly, keeping a blush off his face while thinking about that was _difficult_. But he did it anyway.

            Tony stopped when Steve gasped. Had he accidently hit a wire that caused the man pain? _Could_ Steve feel pain from this arm? Tony watched him carefully, wondering what was going on. Steve looked like a toddler, rediscovering his hands again, eyes wide and curious as he poked the limb, like it didn't belong to him. The arm was still open as Steve moved it, and Tony could see the mechanics inside working, one fluid motion, so there didn't seem to be any pain.

            And then Steve's hand was cupping his jaw, brushing a thumb across his cheek. His eyes didn't look like those of a hardened killer. They looked so much like child eyes. Steve looked so excited. "I-I can feel..."

            Then Steve seemed to realize that he was touching Tony's face, because he pulled his hand away quickly. "How'd you do that? Show me," Steve pleaded, putting his arm back over closer to Tony. "Please?"

            "Uh... sure," Tony said, and he started explaining what he was doing as he put the finishing touches on the inner-workings of the mechanical arm. Steve listened, a grin on his face that Tony wasn't sure he'd ever really seen before. It made him feel happy inside, seeing that smile on Steve's face. Tony guessed that Steve had no idea what he was saying, but he didn't seem to care, because his arm could feel, and apparently he was content with listening to Tony speak.

            It wasn't until Bucky came down to the lab when Tony realized just how many hours they'd been down there.

            "I can feel again," Steve said excitedly to his friend, and Tony couldn't see a single trace of the mind-controlled assassin that Hydra had made Steve. Bucky must not have been able to see any assassin in him either, based on the way he smiled broadly.

            "That's amazing, Stevie," Bucky said, and he listened as Steve tried explaining some of what Tony had been telling him.

            "More or less," Tony said, nodding, when Steve looked over at him for confirmation. Wow, he was like a sponge, just absorbing information. Good, that was actually really good.

            Bucky looked over at him, and for a moment, Tony was confused by the look on his face. Not quite _grateful_ , but rather more... _knowing?_ Happy? He wasn't quite sure. "Thanks, Tony. You really are a genius, huh?"

            "Course I am, Cap," Tony said, smirking. "Didn't you know that already?"

            Bucky just rolled his eyes and smiled. "I don't know how you managed to do it, but great job, Tony. Now, I've been sent to retrieve the two of you for dinner. Come on."

            Steve had an easy smile on his face, one that Tony was grateful for. Sure, the Winter Soldier hadn't been at the tower for long, but Tony was glad that he was there, and so was the rest of the team. Steve fit in with them like he'd been there from the beginning.

 

            The shield that Steve was holding was far different from the one that Bucky had. The twin shield used to be at S.H.I.E.L.D., but Tony had convinced them that the Winter Soldier wasn't going to hurt people. No, he was going to help them. He'd asked Tony if it would be possible to paint the shield so that it looked different—he didn't want the 'Captain America' colors anymore, no, those were for Bucky.

            Now it looked like Captain America's darker half—red, black, red, black, with a red star in the center. Steve seemed to really like it, which of course made Tony happy because it made Steve happy.

            "Just stay close to me," Bucky insisted. Tony could see that he wanted to look out for his friend—after all, Steve had only been with the team for two months, and he hadn't gone out to battle with them often, just when they really needed some help.

            The genius saw the way that Steve rolled his eyes at his friend's comments.

            All they had to do was stop these last couple Hydra agents. Steve had recognized one of the men, but he couldn't put a name to the face. Tony watched as Steve's whole demeanor changed when the man, on the other side of the battlefield, held up a leather-bound book with a star on the front.

            "No," Steve gasped, and the panicked look on his face told Tony that something bad was just about to happen. It was a look that Tony hadn’t seen in quite a long time, but when he did, it was always the look on Steve’s face when he woke up from a nightmare.

            "What's wrong?" Tony asked, watching as Steve pulled out his knife. He didn't like carrying around the gun anymore—sometimes it was enough to cause flashbacks—but he did like carrying around knives. He was not only good at throwing them, but his hand-to-hand combat was astounding.

            The man shouted out a word in Russian. Luckily, Tony had been learning Russian so that he'd be able to talk with Steve when he did get caught up in flashbacks, since he stopped speaking English sometimes. And, being a genius, learning a new language wasn’t all that difficult for him to do, especially when he set his mind to it.

            _"Longing,"_ the man had shouted. What in the world was he talking about?

            Steve drew back his lips and snarled like a dog at the man, gripping his knife tightly.

            _"Rusted,"_ the man called out, and the Winter Soldier took off, running toward the man. He seemed to expect that, as he shot a net from a huge weapon that tangled Steve up. Whatever it was that was making Steve so unfocused, Tony wished that he’d calm down. _"Seventeen."_

            "What's going on?" Bucky shouted, and Tony blasted off to go help out of the net. Bucky was currently fighting off some other Hydra agents, and upon seeing Tony going off to help Steve, he stayed back.

            _"Daybreak."_

            "I'm not sure," Tony replied, landing beside Steve. Ripping the netting was a little harder than he expected. Whatever he’d used, these nets were definitely made for a super-soldier.

            _"Furnace,"_ the man continued. Meaningless words… What did he plan on accomplishing? _"Nine. Benign."_

            "Stop," Steve shouted, cutting the last of the ropes. Tony was extremely alarmed by the aggression in Steve's movements, the anger on his face. It was a look that reminded him more of the Winter Soldier than happy-go-lucky Steve Rogers.

            _"Homecoming,"_ the man said, the wicked smirk on his face making Tony want to punch him. The man probably deserved it. _"One."_

            Steve was just about to plunge the knife into the man's chest, the man said, _"Freight car."_

            The blond froze mid-attack. His body went completely rigid for a moment before he slowly lowered the knife. Tony wasn’t sure what to think about that.

            "Steve?" Tony shouted cautiously, faceplate flipping up. "Hey buddy, what's wrong?"

            When Steve turned around, Tony was shocked to see the blank look on his face. Any emotion that was normally there—Steve had been so carefree and happy and _innocent_ lately, and it was so nice to see—was all gone. Just a blank, emotionless mask remained. His eyes looked soulless.

            What just happened? What did that man do to Steve?

            "Kill the Avengers," the Hydra man said, chuckling cruelly, "staring with Iron Man and Captain America."

            Tony raised an eyebrow at the guy, crossing his arms. "What are you talking about? Steve wouldn't—"

            His faceplate barely managed to flip down in time before the knife dug down into the metal. Tony stared in shock at Steve, who had just thrown a _knife_ at his _face!_

            "What the fuck, Steve?" Tony asked, blasting off into the sky as his blond friend rushed towards Bucky, tackling him to the ground. The moment that he started punching Bucky across the face again and again, Tony blasted into his side, pulling the assassin off of the captain. What was Steve _doing?_ He never just attacked his team! They’d been working so hard at getting rid of what Hydra had done to him—it had been over a month since Steve had an episode! There was no way that he was ‘just having an episode’ right now.

            "What's wrong?" Tony shouted as Steve. He really should've removed the knife first, because he just managed to give Steve another weapon. The blond plucked the knife from his faceplate before he tried to stab it into the suit again and again until the knife broke. It was a real good thing that he’d upgraded his armor to protect against knives. It _had_ been Steve’s idea, after all.

            "Tony, he's not Steve right now," Bucky shouted.

            The genius crashed them both down into the cement, trying to keep Steve pinned down. Somehow the blond had managed to get his shield, though, as he knocked Tony off of him. Before Steve could smash the shield down into his chest— _his arc reactor, oh God, he was going to break the arc reactor, he'd be dead if Steve did that_ —Bucky flung his shield, knocking Steve away. The two super-soldiers tussled for a moment, giving Tony a chance to get up.

            "J, where's that Hydra guy go?" Tony asked. He hated having to blast Steve, but to keep him from killing Bucky... It was a low-energy blast, so hopefully it wouldn't hurt too badly.

            "I have his coordinate, Sir," Jarvis replied, and they appeared on the screen in front of him. Tony grinned, following those over in the direction that he'd gone.

            "Keep him busy, Buck," Tony said.

            In his ear, he could hear Bucky grunt, "'Course, shouldn't be too hard. Though the punk always has fought a bit dirty."

            It didn't take long for Tony to catch up to the Hydra man, who must not have expected that he'd be followed, especially not by Iron Man. Tony smashed him into the ground, keeping him pinned there. One of his repulsors lit up, aimed right at his head.

            "What did you do to Steve?" Tony demanded.

            "The Winter Soldier always listens to his instructions," the man spat, glaring at him. "He's a good little assassin, isn't he?"

            Tony couldn't help it as he decked the man, right across his face. Apparently he hit him a bit too hard, because he was completely out. It gave Tony a chance to search his person and find that red leather-bound book that he'd brought. He shouldn't have been surprised to find that it was all in Russian.

            "Buck, status?" Tony asked.

            "Clint's got him pinned with one of those trick arrows you made him," Bucky reported. After a brief, worrying pause, he added, "Did you find anything?"

            "I think so," Tony replied. "Hey Tash, you can read Russian, right?"

            "What do you have?" Natasha asked, which was a good enough answer for Tony. He shot back into the sky, wanting to make sure his team really was okay. He landed beside Black Widow, handing her the book.

            "I think it's the Winter Soldier... control guide," Tony mumbled, walking over to Steve.

            The blond was stuck to the ground, though that didn't stop him from struggling and growling and muttering curses in Russian at the team. His eyes were still blank. Tony let his faceplate flip open again, and he put an armored hand on Steve's chin, lifting his face.

            "Steve... you've _got_ to remember," Tony murmured, not all that surprised when the blond spat in his face. He sighed, wiping his face as he stood up.

            "I can translate this... see if there's a way to break any of the controls that they've got on him," Natasha offered.

            Bucky was sitting nearby, head in his hands, looking so pitiful that it hurt to see him like that. He looked like he was ready to panic. It was definitely not a good look for Captain America.

            "It's not your fault, Cap," Tony murmured, settling down beside him. He knew some of what Bucky had gone through—he'd told him a lot, since the two had become friends. "We're going to find a way to help him. He's a part of this team now, and the team takes care of its own. He's going to be fine."

            It was hard to ignore the angry protests from the assassin as he shouted at them in Russian and struggled to get off of the ground. He was glaring at Tony and Bucky, like they were the only two people in the entire world. The Hydra man _had_ said to kill them first.

            "He's been so good lately... he hasn't been having as many nightmares, he hasn't been having as many flashbacks or panic attacks, or anything," Bucky murmured sadly, shaking his head. In moments like these, Tony was reminded that under that star-spangled Captain America suit, Bucky really was just a man. A man, with emotions and hardships and _pain_. He was only human.

            "I refuse to give up on him," Tony said. If Bucky was breaking down, he knew that he needed to stay strong, for his friends. On the inside, he cried for the man that he'd been getting to know, the man who may be lost thanks to that horrible Hydra scum. "Let's get him back to the tower and see what we can do to help."

            Tony had never been happier about the fact that Natasha knew pressure points. When he'd first learned that, he was terrified that she'd just knock him out. But he trusted her, she wouldn't do that. But Steve needed to be out right now. It made it a lot easier to carry him back to the tower.

 

            "His vitals look normal," Bruce commented, going through some of the scans that they'd done while Bucky made sure that the handcuffs were secure. If Steve woke up in a Hydra-induced rage, they'd need to be able to keep him still, and keep him from hurting anyone.

            Bucky looked miserable as he crashed down into the chair beside Steve's bed. Clint stayed near him, trying to convince him that everything would be fine. Natasha stayed in the doorway, watching the assassin with narrowed eyes. Tony could see the way that she was trying to hide the pain. Out of everyone, she had the clearest ideas of what it was that Steve had been through. She understood.

            "When he wakes up," Bruce continued, trying to ignore the tension in the room, "there's a chance that the last two months will be buried under the Winter Soldier programming, and therefore he won't think of us as friends, but rather targets."

            "That's why we got rid of all of his weapons, and the most dangerous things he _could_ use as weapons," Natasha said, biting her lip as she looked away.

            "We're going to need to be patient with him, as always," Bruce said, casting a sad glance over at Steve. "If he was able to get through the programming, which is another possibility since no one was able to wipe his mind like they used to do, then chances are he's not going to take it very well."

            "He remembers everything from when he was the Winter Soldier," Tony mumbled. "Every person he was forced to kill, every decision that he wasn't given the chance to make... He remembers it all. That's why he was struggling too much in the beginning. He had his... missions, but not his memories before that. But now he's got both."

            "I wish he'd never had to go through this," Bucky sighed. "If it had been me instead... Steve was _so happy_ when we were younger. He was a little ball of sunshine. He had hope for the future... I didn't. There are so many days when I wish I would've just let him stay happy for a little longer, and not remind him of all of the evil in the world. If I had fallen... if I had become the Winter Soldier instead... Steve wouldn't have had to lose that happiness. He was always the better 'Captain America' anyway."

            "Steve wouldn't want that," Tony sighed. He walked over to the other side of Steve's bed. That's when he noticed the pained look on Steve's 'sleeping' face. "Steve? You awake?"

            Steve tried to choke back a sob and hide his face as tears streamed down his cheeks. "I don't want to kill you," he cried. "I really don't. I'm sorry; I'm so, so sorry."

            "Steve," Bucky whispered, at his friend's side in an instant. The look of relief was clear in Bucky's eyes. He didn't lose his best friend. "Thank God. Let's get these handcuffs off—"

            "No," Steve shouted, thrashing a little. "I don't want to hurt you, _please_ , God, I don't want to hurt you guys!"

            Hearing the pain in his voice broke Tony's heart. He couldn't help it as he put his hands on either side of Steve's face, brushing his thumbs gently across his cheeks as he tilted Steve's face to look at him. "You're not going to hurt us, Steve," Tony said calmly, trying to brush away the tears on Steve's cheeks. "I _promise_ you, we'll do everything we can to help get rid of what Hydra did to you."

            Steve was still sniffling, but he did manage to pull Tony into a one-armed hug, as Bucky had gotten a chance to remove the handcuff. Tony just held the other man, wanting to make sure that Steve knew that no one was going to give up on him, no one was going to let Hydra have him again. He was a part of their team, their _family_ , and no one would ever be able to change that.

            "I thought I was already fixed... I thought I was already better," Steve cried, keeping Tony held close. "Where did they get that book?"

            "I don't know," Tony murmured, gently rocking the blond. He looked like he was about to pass out again. "But you're wrong, Steve. You didn't have to be fixed, because you were never broken in the first place."

            A faint smile crossed the Winter Soldier's face, surrounded by his team. He wasn't alone, not anymore.


End file.
